USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Whately > History of the town of Whately, Mass., including a narrative of leading events from the first planting of Hatfield, 1661-1899 : with family genealogies > Part 22
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"As the company was, commanded by Capt. Lucius Graves, it consisted of three commissioned officers, eight non-commis- sioned officers, forty-six privates, fifty-one muskets, fifty bayo-
238
nets, fifty cartridge boxes, fifty iron rammers, fifty scabbards and belts, 150 flints, forty-nine wires and brushes, thirty-nine knapsacks, one rifle with equipments, five men absent."
May 19. A company training, attended at eight o'clock in the morning, four absent men.
Sept. 10, 1814. Agreeable to regimental orders of the 9th instant, the following men were detached from this company and ordered to march on the 12th :
Sanderson, Elijah, Ens'n
Wells, Israel
Smith, Phineas
Dickinson, Giles
Allis, Daniel, Jr. Allis, Harris
Gunn, Levi
Smith, Ashley -
Waite, Joel, 4th
Leonard, William
Crafts, Thomas
Jenney, Reuben Bunce, Richard Waite, Enos
After reading the order for furnishing one ensign and eleven men, the captain ordered the music to march around for volun- teers. Sergt. Phineas Smith and Thomas Crafts fell in as vol- unteers. The captain then ordered the draft to commence. The company was divided into nine squads and each squad was to furnish one man. This was done by drawing lots and the quota was soon filled. Some substitutes were furnished at once and others later. Daniel McCoy went in place of Levi Gunn and Isaac Marsh went later for Thomas Crafts who was called home on account of the sickness and death of one of the family.
Then politics ran pretty high. My uncle, Capt. Lucius Graves, was a violent Federalist while my father was always a Democrat and, of course, a warm supporter of James Madison. To show the feeling that animated partisans I will quote a cou- ple of short articles from a copy of the Hampshire Gazette, the first, printed under date of 30 Nov., 1814, says : "On or before the fourth of July, if James Madison is not out of office, a new form of government will be in operation in the eastern section of the union. Instantly after, the contest in many of the states will be whether to adhere to the old or join the new government. Like every thing foretold years ago and which is verified every- day, this warning will also be ridiculed as visionary. Be it so. But Mr. Madison cannot complete his term of service if the war continues. It is not possible and, if he knew human nature, he would see it."
Feb. 8, 1815. The Gazette had the following announce-
239
ment : "Peace ! Peace ! ! From our heart we congratulate our readers that the wanton, wicked and disastrous conflict into which the infatuated rulers of this ill-fated country," etc., etc.
As a further fact, showing the partisan feeling that per- vaded the town and all that region, "At a meeting of the com- pany to choose officers 26 April, 1813, Thomas Crafts was chosen captain. He was a private, and his brother-in-law was lieutenant and the authorities refused to commission him, and in Sept., 1813, Lieut. Lucius Graves was commissioned as cap- tain." My father was often called captain, but to me it seemed to be a misnomer. These facts are from the company records which I have. Then I fully understood the matter.
THE WAR OF 1812. This war was unpopular with the majority of the people in the western part of the state. Public sentiment in this town was about equally divided, though a ma- jority was on the side of the opposition.
To secure concert of action, steps were taken, soon after the declaration of war, by the towns of the three river counties hav- ing Federal majorities, to hold a convention at Northampton. Delegates from fifty-seven towns met there 14 July, 1812. Phineas Frary was sent from Whately.
The convention recommended the appointment of county and town committees of safety and correspondence, the calling of a state convention to be composed of four delegates from each county, and adopted a memorial to the President of the United States, and a set of twenty-one resolutions, setting forth in explicit terms the views of the members and their constituency. The fact is recited that the basis of the Federal Union, is the common interest of all, and that that Union is endangered by sectional and partial legislation. The government is charged with deviating from the course pursued by Washington in his intercourse with foreign nations, with sacrificing vital interests, with aggravating the wrongs received from Great Britain, and palliating those committed by France, with declaring an unjust and unnecessary war in opposition to the opinions and interests of a vast majority of the commercial states. It is denied that Congress has power to call out the militia, except "To execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections and repel inva- sions."
The governor of Massachusetts, Cabel Strong, was in full sympathy with the views expressed by this convention, and declined to order out the state troops on a requisition from the
240
war department. The grave questions involved in this conflict between the state and the Federal authorities, and their bearing on the party politics of the day, need not be recited here. As a consequence of Governor Strong's position, the United States troops were withdrawn from Massachusetts, and the entire coast was left exposed to hostile invasion. In this emergency, early in the fall of 1814, the governor called out the chartered compa- nies and made a requisition for troops to be drafted from the state militia.
In answer to this call, the Whately Rifle Greens, under command of Capt. Amos Pratt, marched 15 Sept., 1814, for a three months' campaign. They were stationed, most of the time, "On the South Boston shore opposite Fort Independence," and were attached to the battalion in command of Maj. William Ward of Worthington. The company was discharged 28 Oct.
Muster roll of the Whately Rifle Greens, who went to Bos- ton, Sept., 1814 :
Pratt, Amos, Capt.
Hannum, Spencer
Parker, Asa, Lieut.
Hillman, Erastus
Graves, Pliny, Ensign
Hubbard, Erastus
Loomis, Jona. C., Sergt.
Ingraham, Quartus
Graves, Perez, Sergt.
Larrabee, Benjamin
Woods, Martin, Sergt.
Loomis, William
The other not indicated.
Morton, Arnold
Reed, Simeon, drummer
Morton, Calvin
Morton, Sylvester, fifer
Munson, John
Bartlett, Samuel, bugler
Adams, Jona. S.
Nash, Phineas Phelps, Edward
Belden, Joseph
Sanderson, Samuel
Bodman, Theophilus
Smith, Horace
Carley, Samuel
Smith, Justin
Dixon, John
Smith, Chester
Graves, William
Smith, Robert
Graves, Rowland
Starks, Justus
Graves, Justus
Starks, Willard
Graves, John
Stearns, John
Graves, Reuben
Train, Roswell Taylor, Otis
Graves, Charles
Woods, Jonathan
Graves, Oliver
Gillette, Jona. A.
Wade, Amasa, Jr.
Hannum, Henry
Warner, Luther
241
Four Whately men who served in the army in the war of 1812-16-in the regular government troops:
I. Aaron Waite, son of Landlord Joel Waite, enlisted for three years, or during the war, and served on the northern frontier. He died on his journey home, in 1815, when within thirty or forty miles of his home, aged thirty-five years.
2. Chester Nash was a son of Joseph. What became of him I do not know, but think that he returned from his service in the army.
3 and 4. Michael and Alvin Smith were sons of Philip and Rebecca (Tower) Smith of Whately. After his return, Michael was drowned while working at boating at or near Warehouse Point, Conn., 17 May, 1821. They enlisted at Amherst, and a few incidents relating to this are worthy of reciting. Michael was over to Amherst and, after imbibing as much flip as he could well carry, he became very patriotic and enlisted. As he failed to come home, Alvin went to see what the trouble was. Then he tried to have the recruiting officer give him up, but he objected, so to win his good graces, he asked the officer to drink with him. The result was, that after a series of drinks, Alvin also became very patriotic and enlisted. In a day or two, their father found out that they had both enlisted and he went to Amherst and demanded his sons, as they were under age. The wily official didn't like to give them up, so to placate the wrath of the father, he asked him to take a friendly glass with him and followed it up with other friendly glasses, until the father also became so patriotic that he enlisted. The next day the officer talked over the situation and told the older Smith he could go home, but he must let the boys go. To this the father assented and he went home.
THE REBELLION OF 1861-1865. Of the interest taken by Whately in this struggle, perhaps it is sufficient to say, that the town promptly filled her quota under each and every call for troops. The number that enlisted under the call for nine months men was twenty-eight; the number of enlisted men and recruits, under the various calls for three years men, was seven- ty-five; reducing the nine months service to its equivalent in three years service, the total number of three years men credited to Whately is eighty-two.
The men who enlisted during the first year of the war ap- pear to have received no bounties. Those that went out in 1862 on the nine months service received each $100 as bounty
24 2
money, and the town paid $100, or $125, to most of the volun- teers after this date. The total sum paid by the town for en- listed men and recruits, under all calls, was $12, 100.
As the whole business of enlistment and drafting was under the exclusive control of the United States provost marshal, the state archives furnish no data by which the quota of the towns, under the severals calls, can be ascertained. And as during the last years of the war, recruits were obtained without regard to residence, and by sharp competition, it often happens that men are wrongly credited, hence the difficulty in getting reliable statistics.
The list of soldiers, here given, is made up from the minutes kept by the selectmen of the town, and from the records col- lected by the adjutant general of the state. It is believed to be substantially correct.
Nine months men from Whately who served in the 52d Reg.
Infantry, M. V. M. Companies D, G, H and I were mus- tered in 11 Oct., 1862, and discharged 14 Aug., 1863:
Name.
Age. Date of Enlistment. Company.
Charles M. Elder,
24
Aug. 27, 1862 D
Charles A. Macomber,
19
Chester G. Crafts, Corp.
3I
Sept. 8, 1862 D
D
Edwin M. Belden, ist Sergt. 31
30
66
D
Henry C. Belden,
24
I
Stephen R. Harvey,
37
66
D
William F. Rhoads,
37
66
D
Bela K. Crafts,
ยท20
66
D
Asa A. Smith. Sergt.
29
Sept., 1862
D
Sumner W. Crafts,
2I
D
William D. Adams,
29
66
I
Charles B. Newton,
18
66
D
Ira N. Guillow,
20
66
I
John N. Miner,
23
D
Albert S. Fox,
25
D
Elbridge G. Smith,
22
D
Samuel S. Smith,
39
D
Lorenzo Z. Payne,
19
D
Died Baton Rouge, La., Jan. 20, 1763.
William A. Pearson,
24 Sept. 17, 1862 I
Joseph L. Longly,
38 muster'd Oct. 11, 1862 D
Henry Lyman, 27
D
Died Baton Rouge, La., May 2, 1863.
George M. Crafts, Corp.
27
H
Francis G. Bardwell,
20 I
66
D
James A. Crump, post stew'd 43
D
Edward F. Smith,
24
I
Josiah H. Potter,
22
G
Luther Crafts,
243
John Brown, aged 42, enlisted Sept., 1862, in Co. H, Eighth Regiment Infantry.
Three years men who served in Co. C, 27th Reg. M. V .:
Irving B. Crafts, 18, enl. 24 Sept., '61, dis. 31 Mar., 63, sickness. Wm. McCoy, 30, enl. 23 Aug., '61, dis. 30 May, '63, sickness. Arthur A. Waite, 20, enl. 15 Mar., '62, d. Portsmouth, N. C., 27 Jan., '63.
Bartholomew O'Connell, 19, enl. 18 Sept., '61, prom. to Ist Sergt., 12 June, '63, discharged to re-enlist 23 Dec., '63.
Bartholomew O'Connell, 21, re-enl. 24 Dec., '63, killed Kings-
ton, N. C., 8 Mar., '65, was in command of his company when killed.
Patrick Murphy, 30, enl. 24 Sept., '61, dis. 30 Aug., '63, disa- bility.
Patrick Murphy, 32, re-enl. I Dec., '63, died Andersonville, Ga., 16 Mar., '65.
Andrew M. Wetherell, 22, enl. 24 Sept., '61, died Anderson- ville, Ga., 20 Aug.
Three years men who served in the 21st Reg. Inf. M. V .:
Charles R. Crafts, 21, enl. 23 Aug., '61, in Company G, dis- charged I Jan., '64, expiration of service.
Charles R. Crafts, 24, re-enl. 2 Jan., '64, in Company G, dis- charged 12 Aug., '64, disability.
James L. Waite, 21, enl. 12 Mar., '62, in Co. I, deserted.
John Huxley, 24, enl. 3 Mar., '62, in Co. I, dis. 15 Mar., '64. John Huxley, 26, re-enl. 15 Mar., '64, in Co. I, transf. to 36th
Reg., transf. to 56th Reg., dis. 12 July, '65, expiration of service.
David Amell, 18, en1. 7 Mar., '62, in Co. F, d. 23 Aug., '62. James Lyndon, 19, enl. 26 Feb., '64, in Co. I, transf. to 36th Reg., transf. to 56th Reg., dis. 12 July, '65, expiration of service.
Three years men who served in the 37th Reg. Inf. M. V .: Chauncey Waite, 33, enl. 21 July, '62, Co. F, died of wounds, Wilderness, Va., 27 June, '64.
Charles S. Bardwell, Sergt., 26, enl. 22 July, '62, Co. F, prom. 2d Lieut. 20 June, '63, Ist Lieut. 15 May, '64, acting Capt., Sept., '64, died at Winchester, W. Va., 6 Oct., '64, of wounds received in battle 19 Sept.
Stephen G. Stearns, 21, enl. 22 July, '62, Co. F, dis. 21 June, '65, expiration of service.
Nehemiah J. Tilden, 42, enl. 22 July, '62, Co. K, died at White Oak Swamp, Va., 28 Dec., '62.
Henry Amell, 23, enl. 22 July, '62, Co. F, dis. 21 June, '65, ex- piration of service.
Luther G. Stearns, 28, enl. 22 July, '62, Co. F, dis. 21 June, '65, expiration of service.
1
244
Samuel E. Sanderson, 18, enl. 22 July, '62, Co. F, dis. 21 June, '65, expiration of service.
Ernest A. Allis, 19, enl. 22 July, '62, Co. F, dis. 10 Mar., '63, sickness.
John F. Pease, 21, enl. 21 July, '62, Co. F, dis. 21 June, '65, expiration of service.
Edgar W. Field, 18, enl. 21 July, '62, Co. F, died Anderson- ville, 15 Aug., '64.
Edward E. Sanderson, 24, enl. 21 July, '62, Co. F, dis. 9 June, '65.
Orange Bardwell, 19, enl. 23 July, '62, Co. F, killed, battle of the Wilderness, Va., 6 May, '64.
Austin A. Waite, 19, en1. 23 July, '62, Co. F, dis. 21 June, '65, expiration of service.
Frederick A. Farley, Sergt., 30, enl. 1 Aug., '62, Co. F, prom. 2d Lieut., 21 May, '65, dis. I July, '65.
Robert Brown, 18, enl. 10 Nov., '63, Co. F, transf. to 20th Reg. Inf., 21 June, '65, dis. 28 July, '65.
Charles H. Walker, 18, mustered 23 Nov., '63, Co. H, dis. 2 May, '65, disability.
Henry M. Wood, 20, mustered 9 Oct., '64, unassigned, dis. 28, Aug., '65, expiration of service.
Three years men who served in the roth Reg. Inf. M. V. :
William A. P. Foster, 24, enl. 17 Aug., '61, Co. C, transf. to . 37th Reg., dis. 31 Aug., '64, expiration of service.
Dwight Morton, 33, en1. 13 July, '63, Co. C.
Frank D. Bardwell, 20, enl. 28 Aug., '62, Co. H, dis. I July, '64, expiration of service. Had arm shattered in first day's fight in the Wilderness, Virginia.
Three years men who served in the 17th Reg. Inf. M. V .:
Henry R. Sanderson, 21, enl. 11 April, '62, Co. G, dis. 5 Sept., '62, disability.
Wm. T. Parks, Sergt., 26, mustered 17 Nov., '64, Co. D, dis. 22 July, '65.
Three years men who served as indicated :
Sylvester R. Walker, 40, enl. 20 Nov., '61, Co. C, 31st Reg. Inf., dis. 31 Aug., '63, disability.
Henry R. Sanderson, Corp., re-en1. 18 Feb., '64, Co. C, 57th Reg. Inf., dis. 3 Dec., '64, disability.
Henry D. Smith, 21, enl. 8 Aug., '62, Co. G, Ist Mass. Cavalry, dis. 31 Oct., '64, expiration of service.
William A. Pearson, enl. 12 Nov., '63, Co. C, Ist Mass. Heavy Art., transf. to Navy, 28 April, '64.
Foster Meekins, Sergt., 31, enl. 22 Jan., '62, Co. F, 34th Reg. Inf., dis. 16 June, '65, expiration of service.
Dwight L. Dickinson, 19, enl. 31 July, '62, Co. G, 34th Reg. Inf., dis. 16 June, '65, expiration of service.
245
Alonzo J. Hale, 26, enl. 4 Jan., '64, 5th Battery Light Art., dis. 12 June, '65, expiration of service.
Samuel S. Smith, 40, re-enl. 25 June, '64, Co. E, 57th Reg. Int., dis. 30 July, '65, expiration of service.
John Brown, 43, re-enl. 25 Jan., '64, Co. E, 57th Reg. Inf., d. Andersonville, Ga., 12 Oct., '64.
Franklin E. Weston, 21, enl. 22 Nov., '61, Co. B, 3Ist Reg. Inf., dis. 22 Nov., '64, expiration of service.
William R. Waite, 24, enl. 5 Jan., '64, Co. B, 32d Reg. Inf., killed, Petersburg, Va., 18 June, '64.
Three years men, recruits credited to Whately, whose place of birth and residence are unknown :
James Barrett, 38, enl. 21 July, '64, 28th Reg. Inf. M. V.
Alfred Micollete, 21, enl. 21 July, '64, 28th Reg. Inf. M. V. William Whiting, 21, enl. 8 Oct., '64, Co. B, 55th Reg. Inf. M. V., dis. 29 Aug., '65, expiration of service.
John Doherty, 42, enl. 12 Jan., '64, Co. E, 56th Reg. Inf. M. V., died at Boston, 10 Feb., '64.
James Anderson, 21, enl. 25 Feb., '64, Co. K, 56th Reg. Inf. M. V., dis. 4 Sept., '65, disability.
Charles W. Ellis, 19, enl. 25 Feb., '64, Co. K, 56th Reg. Inf. M. V., dis. 16 June, '65.
Jacob Nelson, 24, enl. 25 Feb., '64, Co. K, 56th Reg. Inf. M. V., dis. 15 June, '65.
William Tassell, 24, enl. 25 Feb., '64, Co. K, 56th Reg. Inf. M. V., deserted 20 April, '64.
Joseph Perro, 23, enl. 10 Feb., '64, Co. I, 57th Reg. Inf. M. V., dis. 30 July, '65, expiration of service.
John Ryan, 28, enl. 30 Nov., '64, Co. D, 24th Reg. Inf. M. V., dis. 20 Jan., '66, expiration of service.
David Sheilds, 18, enl. 3 June, '64, Co. I, 19th Reg. Inf. M. V., dis. 30 June, '65, expiration of service.
James Prince, 19, enl. 30 June, '64, Co. G, 20th Reg. Inf. M. V., dis. 12 June, '65.
Thomas Doody, 20, enl. 30 June, '64, Co. I, 20th Reg. Inf. M. V., died of wounds, I Oct., '64.
Lewis Bushey, 20, en1. 13 July, '64, Co. K, 20th Reg. Inf. M. V., dis. 28 July, '65, expiration of service.
Charles Williams, 25, enl. 31 Oct., '64, 15th Battery Light Art., deserted I Jan., '65.
Charles Toomey, 31, enl. 26 Aug., '64, Co. B, 2d Reg. Heavy Art., dis. 26 June, '65, expiration of service.
George Shannon, 19, en1. 30 Dec., '63, Co. D, 2d Reg. Cavalry, deserted 23 Feb., '65.
Julius Schneider, 23, enl. 2 Jan., '64, 2d Reg. Cavalry.
Anton Braun, 33, enl. 19 Feb., '64, 3d Reg. Cavalry, deserted May, '64.
Richard F. Stanton, 25, enl. 29 Jan., '64, Co. B, 5th Reg. Cav- alry, dis. 31 Oct., '65, expiration of service.
246
John Stewart, 26, enl. 29 Jan., '64, Co. B, 5th Reg. Cavalry, deserted 20 May, '64.
Frank Strothers, 24, enl. 24 Feb., '64, Co. F, 5th Reg. Cavalry, dis. 31 Oct., '65, expiration of service.
Robert Robinson, 25, enl. 20 Oct., '64, 5th Reg. Cavalry.
John Choiswell, 41, enl. 25 Oct., '64, Veteran Reserve Corps. James B. Kennedy, 20, enl. 31 Oct., '64, Veteran Reserve Corps. Charles Robinson, 20, enl. 21 Oct., '64, Veteran Reserve Corps. Thomas McDonald, 22, enl. 14 June, '64, 27th Reg. Inf. M. V.
Names of Whately men who were in service as indicated. Most of them enlisted from other states, but they deserve a place in our annals :
Moses W. Jewett, enl. for three years, 20 Aug., '61, in Co. B, 6th Conn. Vol., transf. 22 Feb., '63, to Co. D, Ist U. S. Art. ; re-en1. for three years, 4 Feb., '64, dis. 4 Feb., '67, expiration of service. Was in twenty-five engagements, be- ginning at Hilton Head, S. C., and ending 9 April. '65, with the surrender of Gen. Lee.
Henry A. Brown, Sergt., 24, enl. for three years from Northamp- ton. 21 June, '61, in Co. C, Ioth Mass. Reg. Inf., prom. 2d Lieut., 29 Sept., '62.
Frederick R. Brown, 30, enl. for three years from Boston, 3 Nov., '63, in Co. G, 12th Mass. Reg. Inf., died Culpepper, Va., 17 Jan., '64.
Francis C. Brown, enl. from Rockford, Winnebago Co., Ill., in Co. G, 74th Ill. Reg. Inf.
James E. Brown, enl. in Co. C, 93d Reg. Ohio Inf., served three years. Was taken prisoner, escaped, was re-taken, and held eighteen months at Andersonville, Ga., and Florence. Henry A. Dickinson, 21, enl. for nine months from Hatfield, II Oct., '62, in Co. K, 52d Reg. Mass. Inf., died Baton Rouge, La., 22 March, '63.
Oscar F. Doane, 23, enl. for two years, 21 May, '61, from Gaines, N. Y., Co. H, 27th Reg. N. Y. Vols., dis. 31 May, '62, re-enl. for three years, 14 Dec., '63, Co. C, 8th Reg. N. Y. Heavy Art., killed on the picket line in front of Petersburg, Va., 22 Nov., '64.
Lucius Allis, 21, enl. for three years, 23 Feb., '65, from Marl- boro, in Co. C, 3Ist Reg. Mass. Inf., died, Mobile, Ala., 23 June, '65.
Dwight W. Bardwell, 21, enl. for three years from Deerfield, 8 Oct., '63, Co. F, 2d Reg. Mass. Heavy Art., died 7 Dec., '64, Newbern, N. C.
Wells Clark, 18, enl. for three years, from Hatfield, 26 Dec., '61, in Co. G, 3Ist Reg. Inf. M. V., re-en1. 17 Feb., '64, died of wounds, 23 May, '64, New Orleans, La.
Alvah S. Frary, 18, enl. '62, died 23 July, '63, at Vicksburg. A list of recuits, mostly colored men, to fill our quota at Boston :
247
Henry R. Egtion,
6th Reg., colored.
Duncan R. Morrill,
James Stanton,
Alexander Ross,
66
William Hill,
66
Ambrose McKenna,
William M. Shaw,
Edward Coburn,
James Gorman,
John Stewart,
William Hill,
Alexander McDonald,
66
5th Cavalry. Ist Battery Heavy Artillery. 59th Reg.
These men cost the town from $125 to $175 each, the latter sum being paid for the larger proportion of them; and nine other men, previously mentioned, enlisted on the same terms.
CHAPTER XIII.
LOCAL INDUSTRIES.
The mechanical industries of every locality are always im- proved where suitable facilities are furnished for water power. This seems to be the most natural and easily acquired source for the encouragement of mechanical work of all kinds, and our early settlers seemed to fully appreciate the advantages to them of the proper improvement of the town by utilizing the several privileges afforded for the erection of mills on the West brook.
This stream rises in Conway and enters Whately at its ex- treme northwestern limit and runs through the western part of the town in a southeasterly direction until it falls into the Capa- wong, or Mill river, some fifty rods east of Chestnut Plain street. In this distance, of some over three and a half miles, it falls nearly, or quite, 350 feet, and in this distance fourteen privileges have been improved first and last, while other oppor- tunities exist that have never been improved. Those that have been used are said to average seventeen feet fall. The largest fall is at the one we designate as No. 13, where a forty feet fall is obtained, and if this was conveyed by a conduit pipe to the level, a fall of 125 feet, at least, could be obtained.
This stream is formed by the union of Avery brook, the western branch, and Sinkpot brook, the eastern branch, a half mile or so in Conway and from there it takes the name of West brook. Into it flow a number of smaller brooks and many small runs furnished by springs. The largest of these brooks has long been known as Harvey's brook. This rises in Wil- liamsburg and is of such magnitude as to afford considerable
249
water power. . Mr. Harvey used it for years in his mill, or shop, where he carried on quite a business. Other brooks come in from Williamsburg way, while on the north side we have Todd's brook and Poplar Hill brook, both rising in Conway and flow- ing southerly unite with West brook. On Poplar Hill brook old Mr. Moses Munson and his son, Joel Munson, built a mill, or shop, where they manufactured cider mill machinery of wood, consisting of the needed screws and beam for pressing and the nuts for grinding the apples, and many other articles, as cheese presses, chairs, coffins, etc. The hills bordering the West brook, which form its water shed, are somewhat steep and this causes, in times of heavy rains, sudden rises of the water and sometimes damage.
Beginning up the stream, the following is the list of the several privileges that have been occupied and, as near as may be, the dates when first occupied and the purpose, or use, con- templated and, as far as we can, the subsequent owners. The numbers prefixed are arbitrary and are used for the sake of con- venience in referring to them :
No. I. A sawmill was built by Dexter Morton, south from the house of Rufus D. Waite some fifty rods, on the Dry Hill road, about 1830. After the death of Mr. Morton, the farm was sold off in sections and the mill property was purchased by Elliot A. Warner.
No. 2. On the West brook, Reuben Jenney and his son, Reuben, Jr., bought 26 May, 1816, this privilege where had long been carried on the blacksmith business, with a trip ham- mer attachment, by James Cutter, but who built it I do not know. For many years Elisha A. Jenney, son of Reuben, Jr., has used it for wood turning.
No. 3. This is not on West brook, but a tributary of West brook that comes down from Williamsburg, often called Har- vey's brook. On this Elihu Harvey built a large shop that had been used for various purposes, for the manufacture of broom handles, brush handles and a variety of wood turning, garden rakes, saw-sets, etc. Then for a husk mill and, after the death of the Harvey family, Lieut. Oscar W. Grant bought and used it as a repair shop. It was burned in 1883.
No. 4. A mill was built on the Harvey brook, near the house of Elisha A. Jenney, but then owned by Ashley Smith. Here, about 1828 or '29, Hiram Smith carried on the manufacture of many implements of iron and steel ma-
250
chinist tools, etc. This was afterwards used by Thomas Nash to manufacture satinet cloth. It was burned about 1850 and never rebuilt.
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